The Hindu : India-centric concessions soon: Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

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India-centric concessions soon: Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD May 3. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, today informed a group of intellectuals here today that his Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, would soon announce India-centric `concessions' in response to the peace initiative of the latter's Indian counterpart, Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Those who attended the meeting on current international affairs included the former Ambassador to the United States, Maleeha Lodhi, the Chairman of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, Pervez Iqbal Cheema, and a retired Pakistani general and defence analyst, Talat Masood.

Khalid Mehmud, Research Analyst, Institute of Regional Studies, who also attended the meeting, later said that there was a consensus that Mr. Vajpayee's peace initiative would go a long way in defusing the tension in South Asia. However, not everyone was sure if the latest mission would help India and Pakistan resolve their problems.

Such is the impact of the peace initiative that India-Pakistan relations consumed the entire question and answer session. One participant suggested the `de-linking' of the Kashmir issue from the talks and proceeding towards normalisation of ties in other areas. The President's response was that it was not possible.

In his introductory remarks, Gen. Musharraf said all bilateral issues, including Kashmir should be resolved through talks. Claiming that the international community had hailed Pakistan's stand on different regional and international issues, he said it was an example of the country's successful foreign policy.

On Friday, at a banquet hosted in honour of Prince Karim Agha Khan, the President said, "we seek peaceful resolution of all disputes and differences (with India), especially the core dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. We, on our part, will demonstrate all our seriousness." Pakistan had made consistent overtures for a better climate of relations with India, he claimed.

"Mistrust and confrontation is much to the detriment of progress and prosperity of more than one-fifth of humanity that inhabits South Asia. We desire tension-free and cooperative relations with India. We stand ready to enter into a dialogue anytime, anywhere," he said.

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